孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
寻裴处士
Searching for Recluse Pei
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涉水更登陆 所向皆清真 寒草不藏径 灵峰知有人 |
Fording the river, climbing up again, Going where all is simple and pure. Winter grasses don't hide the trail. Divine peaks know someone is here. |
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悠哉炼金客 独与烟霞亲 曾是欲轻举 谁言空隐沦 |
Inner alchemist, free and unrestrained, Alone and intimate of twilit mists. Once he only wanted to live free. Now they say he's engulfed in emptiness. |
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远心寄白月 华发回青春 对此钦胜事 胡为劳我身 |
His distant mind he sends to the bright moon. His white hair has again turned dark. I've come out of respect for his accomplishments, Recklessly pushing myself on. |
-- 孟郊
废话
Inner alchemy is Daoist meditative practice. In practical terms, it leads to one's generation of bodily heat and in some cases the opposite. One of Bai Juyi's friends could keep himself warm in winter and cool in summer. The poet Yu Xuanji was able to produce this warmth. But these are merely consequences of a pursuit, of walking a particular path. Buddhist or Daoist, both are upon the path. And Meng Jiao is searching for someone whose practical demonstration exceeds his own. Such people are always hard to find. In this poem, at least, Recluse Pei remains unfound.